Olympic lifts

Last week I published a blog about a study that at least suggested that we may not need to catch the bar to get the optimal benefits from the Olympic lifts. I got a lot of emails, messages, and comments about that study. So, I figured I’d put my thoughts together about this. Let me start with a confession, I began as a really arrogant Olympic lifting believer. In college I was a 70-kg lifter who could clean and...

The Olympic lifts and their derivatives are widely performed in the strength and conditioning of athletes. They involve exerting force against the ground, rapid movements, high power outputs, and are total body efforts. However, they require a great deal of technique and take a long time to master. As a result, some coaches have moved to exercises like jump squats and partial movements like the pull that do not require a catching phase to reduce the technical demands. One...

In our last three posts ((http://www.cissik.com/blog/2017/01/power-development-part-i-foundations/ , http://www.cissik.com/blog/2017/02/power-development-part-ii-cautions/ , and http://www.cissik.com/blog/?p=1723&preview=true ) we covered background information behind training for power, cautions with it, and principles behind program design. With this post we’ll cover some of the tools and strategies that are used in power training. The following is a list of tools and strategies used in power training. It’s not a comprehensive list, but it does cover the major ones: Olympic lifts Plyometrics Jump squats Bench throws Power lifting...

In our last two posts ((http://www.cissik.com/blog/2017/01/power-development-part-i-foundations/ and http://www.cissik.com/blog/2017/02/power-development-part-ii-cautions/ ) we covered background information behind training for power as well as cautions with it. With this post we’ll cover some principles behind program design when it comes to power training. In terms of principles: It’s a skill You have to train explosively Train it outside the weight room Prioritize it Train it realistically Technology is great, but… It’s a skill I’ve included this in both of the last two...

Power, the ability to exert force quickly, is something that all athletes are interested in. It is something that underpins almost every athletic skill as they are performed in sports. This includes everything from running, to changing directions, to jumping, to throwing an object, to kicking an object, to hitting an object, etc. All of these require force exerted quickly. This article is going to go over those qualities that are necessary for power development, cautions associated with power training,...